Here's the Scoop!

So... I guess I should tell you exactly what I am up to this summer!

After my geology field camp to the western United States last summer, my professors nominated me for a National Association of Geoscience Teachers/U.S. Geological Survey (NAGT/USGS) internship, and I was granted the opportunity to apply. I interviewed for three different positions back in February, and I was lucky enough to be hired for the summer by Joe Walder, a hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey (he studies the ways water and ice affect volcanic eruptions). So I am working at the Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) in Vancouver, Washington through the end of July! It is really beautiful out here, and I am having a great time.

There are three other interns working at CVO this summer, and we all share an apartment, so I get to spend lots of time with other people my age (who also love volcanoes!). Two are here already, so it's been a lot of fun getting to know them. Kaleb is from Maine, and he is working with a seismologist at CVO, and Jamie is from southern Illinois. She is working with a team measuring deformation on the volcanoes of the region. The other intern, Bissett, isn't here yet, but she will move in with us in the next couple of weeks. We are anxious to get to meet her too!

Our apartment is very nice (although very empty... most of us have flown in, which seriously limits the luggage capacity!). That's not all bad, though- Jamie likes that there's room to do cartwheels in our living room! :) I will try to include a few pictures here (which aren't the best because I took them with my cell phone- I forgot my camera cord at home, so the photos on my camera will have to wait until I get some mail from Mom & Dad).

Here's our spacious living room (complete with fireplace!). Note Jamie's really awesome volcano posters acquired from the nice people at CVO today (mine are up in my bedroom :).

Here's our "sitting room"/dining room/family room/the room with the only furniture we own! We each have our camp chair: Kaleb's is red, Jamie's green, mine blue. We do a lot of reading in our little chairs, as you can see by the many books!

Here is our kitchen and laundry room- it is so nice to have a washer and dryer right in our apartment AND a dishwasher!

The hallway at the top of the stairs. My bedroom is behind me, and the bathroom is the door at far left.

My temporary bedroom. I will move in with Jamie when Bissett arrives, but for now we each have our own space. There are my awesome volcano posters on the floor (left), and my air mattress-bed on the right. And there's Winston (teddy bear) peeking up over the lower right corner!

Today was my first day at work, and it basically involved a lot of training on the computer. I got to meet a lot of really nice people who do some really interesting work. And the highlights of the day: I got sworn in as an official U.S. Government employee, and passed the certification tests to ride in the helicopters that will take us up to the summit of Mt. St. Helens (and other places) to monitor activity and take samples! I am so excited, and can't wait to get started.

I hope all is well, both at home in IL and back at Colgate (or at sea, you Galapagos-ers!). Leave me a comment here, or send me an email to let me know what you're up to!